Nebraska
Inaugural College Basketball Crown pits Nebraska against Arizona State
Nebraska and Arizona State are riding five-game losing streaks and haven’t played in three weeks.
Should the NCAA transfer portal open before the end of March Madness?
Rick Pitino, John Calipari and even J.J. Watt sound off on the transfer portal opening during the NCAA Tournament.
Sports Seriously
March has been college basketball’s ultimate month for decades, but March Madness might gain another definition thanks to the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament.
Take Monday’s first-round game between Nebraska (17-14) and Arizona State (13-19) at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It’s definitely postseason basketball, but it’s a clash of two teams riding five-game losing streaks that haven’t played in three weeks.
It’s also two programs in a state of flux due to injuries, transfers, coaching moves and more. It almost feels like the Cornhuskers and Sun Devils must fit this game into their busy schedules as if it were a dentist appointment instead of a trip to Sin City.
“Obviously a crazy time preparing and doing everything for the tournament,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “At the same time, with the landscape of college basketball right now, we’re doing a lot of work as far as trying to figure out our roster for next season. And visits and Zooms and going out and seeing guys.”
Nebraska hasn’t played since March 9, when a loss in its Big Ten regular-season finale to Iowa kept the Cornhuskers out of the conference tournament. Since that time, top assistant coach Adam Howard has departed to join the staff of new North Carolina State coach Will Wade.
Nonetheless, it’s a chance for Nebraska’s seniors — including first-team all-Big Ten guard Brice Williams (20 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists per game) and forward Juwan Gary (14 points, 4.8 rebounds) — to write a different ending to their college careers.
One senior, 7-foot-1 center Braxton Meah, is a game-time decision due to a lingering back injury that kept him out of Nebraska’s past two games. And another, point guard Rollie Worster, has been shut down after fighting through a foot injury for the final three months of the season.
“He’s been playing with a plate in his shoe,” Hoiberg said. “He’s been really, really sore. It just got to the point to where it’s tough to put a lot of weight on it. The decision was made to put him in a boot.”
Meanwhile, Arizona State hasn’t played since March 11, when the Sun Devils dropped their Big 12 tournament opener to Kansas State.
Though the Sun Devils lost 11 of their final 12 games to clinch their fourth losing record in the past five seasons, head coach Bobby Hurley reportedly will return for an 11th season in Tempe, Ariz.
Arizona State will play without fourth-leading scorer Joson Sanon (11.9 points per game); the freshman guard — a Top 25 recruit in the 2024 class — already has announced a transfer to St. John’s.
On the flip side, the Sun Devils are adding wing Marcus Adams via the transfer portal, On3 reported Saturday. Adams rang up 16.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for Cal State Northridge in 2024-25. Of course, Adams will not be eligible to play in the Crown, a 16-team tournament that runs through next Sunday.
The Sun Devils figure to have just seven scholarship players available Monday, but that includes all five starters. Senior guards BJ Freeman (13.7 points per game) and Alston Mason (13.5 points, 4 assists) and freshman big Jayden Quaintance (9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks) lead the way.
Whichever team snaps its five-game losing streak will advance to the quarterfinals Wednesday against the winner of Monday’s game between Georgetown (17-15) and Washington State (19-14).
–Field Level Media
Nebraska
4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska
People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.
A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.
But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.
Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.
Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.
Nebraska
Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026
The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing
21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
7-5-8
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
03-08-09-17-25
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing
Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18
Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing
Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23
Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing
28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- 2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Nebraska
NioCorp to start work on its minerals mine in southeast Nebraska
NioCorp announced Monday that it plans to start work on its critical minerals mine in southeast Nebraska.
The project, which the company is calling its mine portal project, will involve building a main entrance to the Elk Creek underground mine and will serve as the primary access point for personnel, equipment, and materials for the underground mining operations. It also will include excavating bedrock, drilling and blasting to establish the twin mine ramps, on-site access road construction, and construction of on-site supporting infrastructure.
The project, which will cost nearly $45 million, is set to get underway before the end of the month. It marks the first time Colorado-based NioCorp will actually start any significant work on the main mine, from which the company hopes to extract niobium, scandium, titanium and other minerals.
“Given the size of this excavation work, the portal project really marks the beginning of a major pre-construction activity at the Elk Creek Project site and is an important step toward preparing for underground development,” Scott Honan, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said in a release.
Mark A. Smith, Niocorp’s chairman and CEO, called the project, “a significant milestone.”
Niocorp has spent more than 15 years trying to develop the mine on land in Johnson County, about 65 miles southeast of Lincoln.
The company still needs to raise a significant amount of money to make the $1.2 billion mine a reality, though. In December, NioCorp said it had raised about $360 million, or a little more than a quarter of the total cost. It is still waiting for approval of a $780 million debt financing application from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
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